


an abstract approach

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-06 17:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1109788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is something beautiful about Nagisa's artwork, you think.</p>
            </blockquote>





	an abstract approach

There is something beautiful about Nagisa's artwork, you think.

Back when the swim club was still hunting for members and you weren't on the team yet, you never really paid attention to the posters, (except when Nagisa would shove them in your face with a small Iwatobi-chan carving in his hand,) unbeknownst to the fact that you'd be joining the club within days. You never noticed the colorful array of geometric shapes and swirls on the posters he made, so you simply were unable to appreciate it at the time. Now, however, Nagisa's possibly unappreciated talent is slowly being brought to light.

Nagisa rolls onto his back lazily, clearly bored. It's another afternoon spent in your bedroom doing homework with the ever-so-focused Hazuki Nagisa, and like every other time before it, he can't stop complaining about his boredom and the homework he should have finished a week ago.

"Nagisa-kun," you begin, taking your eyes off your own homework to look at your friend pointedly through your red-framed glasses. "Your homework wouldn't be so late if you did it in the first place."

Nagisa flops forwards, making a sound reminiscent of a penguin or a disgruntled cat.

You sigh. _He's hopeless,_ you think to yourself, but really, what were you expecting?

"But Rei- _chaaan_..." He elongates the honorific on your name, facing you with closed eyes. "Math is so hard to understand..."

You push your glasses up. "Incorrect, Nagisa-kun. Math is one of the easiest subjects to understand, in my opinion. After all, with an equation, calculator, pencil and paper, you can't go wrong." He stares at you, obviously not buying it. You continue, clenching your fist and look up, feeling excited. "The feeling when you answer a problem correctly is a wonderful one to behold. All it takes is a well thought-out theory and clear-cut equation, a little work, and you have an answer. It's a beautiful technique." You finish, huffing excitedly.

"Sounds too complicated..." Nagisa grumbles still, and you fold your arms.

"Beauty is intricate."

He huffs a little, sitting up straight. "Hmm, maybe. I prefer art to math though."

You pause, raising a curious eyebrow at the blonde. "Art?" You repeat, and Nagisa shrugs.  
"Sure!"

"If I recall, you are quite fond of history..." You say, remembering all the times Nagisa would animatedly state history facts in the midst of your homework sessions.

"Well, yeah, but..." Nagisa grabs his abandoned notebook and penguin-themed mechanical pencil, clicking the end. "Art is fun, and there's no rules or theories. You can do whatever you want!"

And with that, he begins scribbling on his notebook, your eyes glued to his rapid hand movements and his messy but certain pencil strokes. You follow his pencil, but you can't figure out what he's drawing. Unsure, you settle for silence and watch in slight awe.

"Like this, see?" Nagisa shows you a one-minute doodle, something you can't quite pinpoint or place on a graph, no equation or variable to describe the relationship between this line and that line and—and it's _beautiful_.

It is quite obviously a piece of abstract art. The strokework is what you find breathtaking. Each line varies in thickness: from spider thread-thin to thick and dark, and some sort of stripe-work for shading. Nagisa worked so quickly, pencil flying over the page, scritching and scratching, not erasing once—as if whatever he envisioned in his head he was able to put directly on paper.

You let out of breath you didn't realize you were holding.

"Well?" Nagisa grins, holding up the page for you to see. "How does it look? Cool, right?"

You fumble with your chin, observing the drawing carefully. You spend a few moments in silence, until:

"...What is it?"

"Ehhh? That's mean, Rei-chan!!" He pouts, and before you can interject, he says, "It's a rockhopper penguin! Look!"

You lean in close, squinting at the image as Nagisa holds it out for you. You think you might see it, but honestly, you're not really sure anymore.

"Nagisa-kun, it hardly looks like a penguin at all..."

"Huhhhh?!" Nagisa frowns, looks at the page itself. "I think it doe—"

"But—" You cough, closing your eyes. "I do find it to be strangely entrancing."

Nagisa stares blankly at you for all of 2 seconds before his pink eyes light up and his smile is nearly blinding as he reaches over to hug you, causing both of you to fall backwards.

"Ack—Nagisa-ku—!!"

"Oh, thank you, Rei-chan!! No one has ever complimented my art before!!!" He laughs joyfully into your collarbone, squeezing you tight, and your heart might be racing a little, for whatever reason. "That makes me so happy!"

"Wait." You push Nagisa up upwards to stare at him in slight shock. "You've never been complimented before?"

Nagisa sits up, pressing his index fingers together. "Well... Yeah, they say it makes no sense or that it has no artistic values in it." He sighs, disappointed, before lighting up again, leaning back down on your chest.

"Oomph!"

"But then you, Rei-chan, _you_ said it was beautiful, didn't you?" He smiles down at you, his bangs nearly touching your face, and you avert your eyes, attempting to push your glasses up despite the compromising position.

"I said entrancing." You pause for a moment, feeling the boy's intense, expectant stare, before adding: "...But beautiful, yes."

Once again, Nagisa squeezes you tight, causing your chest to compress (from the pressure, or is it something else?) and he laughs some more, overjoyed. Even you crack a smile, his euphoria reaching you.

There's no equation or theory to executing abstract art, and that's what you find simultaneously mysterious and beautiful about it. Not a single stroke or color can be predicted, and while the final product is an array of hues and shades, angles and curves, somehow there is a line of beauty. There is no way to predict or graph it either—it is unbounded, free, disorganized in fascinating harmony, and that maybe— _maybe_ it reminds you of someone you know quite well.

**Author's Note:**

> i always thought it was pretty cool that nagisa does the whole abstract art thing, i think it suits him well eheh  
> based on that, i wanted to write on it.  
> (also this is my first fanfic in a very long time so excuse any errors! i'll fix them asap))


End file.
